Helmet

ABSTRACT

A helmet comprising a shell and a chin guard. The chin guard has a first lateral portion, a second lateral portion and a front portion positioned between the first and second lateral portions, said chin guard being hingedly mounted to the shell and moveable between an open position and a closed position. The chin guard has a locking mechanism for locking the chin guard to the shell in the closed position. The locking mechanism comprises a first locking member applied at the first lateral portion and provided for engaging the shell in a locking position; a second locking member applied at the second lateral portion and provided for engaging the shell in the locking position; and an actuating member connected to said first and second locking members and provided for actuating the first and second locking members. The front portion has a first cavity and a second cavity faced towards each other. The actuating member comprises spaced apart first and second buttons located in said first and second cavities and provided to be pressed towards each other in order to actuate the locking members.

This application is a 371 of PCT/BE99/00069, filed Jun. 2, 1999, whichclaims benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 60/098,739, filed Sep. 1, 1998.

The present invention relates to a helmet with a shell, a chin guardhingedly mounted to the shell and a locking mechanism for locking thechin guard to the shell in a closed position.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,652 discloses a safety helmet wherein the lockingmechanism comprises swivel bolts located at both extremities of the chinguard. The swivel bolts engage a locking member provided on the insideof the shell and is releasable against the force of a loading spring.For moving the chin guard from the closed to the open position, bothswivel bolts need to be moved in an unlocking position, requiring thetwo hands from the operator.

EP 0 518 178 discloses a full face helmet having a chin guard that canbe opened with just one hand by acting on a lever with the thumb. Thelever protrudes in front of and outside the chin guard, which couldcause an accidental opening of the chin guard in case of impact. Thissystem is therefore not sufficiently reliable.

EP 0 895 726 having an earlier priority date than the presentapplication, but published after the priority date of the presentapplication, discloses a helmet wherein the actuating member operatingthe locking members is located inside the chin guard and may be operatedwith one hand. While providing a reliable closure system, this helmetsuffers from the problem that the actuating member is not easilyaccessible.

The present invention aims to provide a helmet comprising an openablechin guard, which is reliable in case of impact, and wherein the lockingmechanism is easily accessible and may be operated with one hand.

This object is achieved with the helmet according to the presentinvention comprising a shell and a chin guard. The chin guard has afirst lateral portion, a second lateral portion and a front portionpositioned between the first and second lateral portions. The chin guardis hingedly mounted to the shell and moveable between an open positionand a closed position. The chin guard has a locking mechanism forlocking the chin guard to the shell in the closed position. The lockingmechanism comprises a first locking member applied at the first lateralportion; a second locking member applied at the second lateral portion;and an actuating member connected to said first and second lockingmembers and provided for actuating the first and second locking members.The front portion has a first cavity and a second cavity. The actuatingmember comprises spaced apart first and second buttons located in saidfirst and second cavities and provided to be pressed towards each otherfor moving the locking members in the unlocking position.

By providing that the cavities are located in the front portion of thechin guard and that the locking members can be simply unlocked bypressing the two buttons towards each other, a reliable mechanism whichcan be operated with two fingers of one hand is provided. The closuresystem is in addition easily accessible since the buttons are located inthe cavities in the chin guard front portion.

In a preferred embodiment, the actuating member is connected to thelocking members with tie rods. This provides a reliable transmissionmechanism from the push buttons to the locking members.

The locking members are in particular formed by levers hingedly mountedto the chin guard.

Preferably, the locking mechanism further comprises a support memberfixed to the chin guard, and the locking member is hingedly fixed to thesupport member. This facilitates the assembly of the locking mechanism.The support member, the locking members and the actuating member may beassembled together and then fixed on the inside of the chin guard.

For safety reasons, the helmet further preferably comprises means forholding the chin guard in the open position. This avoids an accidentalclosure of the chin guard, which could be dangerous in case amotorcyclist using such a helmet with the chin guard in the openposition is driving.

Preferably, the helmet further comprises a first visor assembly hingedlymounted to the chin guard. This enhances the user flexibility, since itallows to open the first visor assembly, while maintaining the chinguard in the closed position. In particular, the helmet furthercomprises a second visor assembly hingedly mounted to the first visorassembly. This forms a helmet with a double visor wherein the firstvisor could be a conventional transparent visor, while the second visoris of a darker colour forming thereby a sun screen.

In order to facilitate the hinge movement of the second visor assemblywith respect to the first visor assembly, the first visor assemblycomprises a groove and the second visor assembly comprises a slidingbutton slideably mounted in the groove.

In a further preferred embodiment, the helmet further comprisesresilient means between said first and second buttons for bringing thefirst and second buttons in a rest position. In order to open the chinguard, it will be sufficient to press the two buttons together againstthe load of the resilient means. When releasing the buttons, they willreturn automatically, with the load of the resilient means, to itsinitial position.

Ventilation to the inside of the helmet is ensured with ventilationmeans. These means contribute at the same time in demisting the visors.

A modular helmet is formed when the chin guard is removably mounted onsaid shell. When a user wishes to convert his helmet of the closed typeto a helmet of the open type, he simply removes the chin guard from theshell.

Further details of the invention will now be described referring to theannexed drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the helmet accordingto the invention.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a helmet according to the invention with thechin guard in the closed position.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the helmet according to FIG. 1 with the chinguard in the open position.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the helmet according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the locking mechanism with support membermounted in the inside of the chin guard of the helmet according to FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the hinge mechanism of the helmetaccording to FIG. 1.

As shown in the figures, the helmet 10 is formed of a shell 12 and achin guard 14. The shell is composed of an outer shell and a shockabsorbing internal lining, as well known in the art. In the chin guard,three portions, delimited by the dotted lines, are defined: a firstlateral portion 16, a second lateral portion 18 and a front portion 20.The front portion corresponds to the part of the chin guard covering thechin of the user. The lateral portions correspond to parts of the chinguard covering the cheeks of the user.

The chin guard 14 is hingedly mounted to the shell 12 with a hingemechanism 22, as further described in detail. The chin guard may bepositioned between a closed position, as illustrated in FIG. 1 and anopen position as illustrated in FIG. 2.

In order to lock the chin guard in the closed position, a lockingmechanism is provided. The locking mechanism comprises a first lockingmember 24 located along the first lateral portion 16 and a secondlocking member 25 located along the second lateral portion 18 of thechin guard. Each locking member is preferably formed by a lever hingedlymounted to the chin guard. Each lever has a hook 48 provided forengaging a corresponding slot 50 located at an extremity of the shell12, when the chin guard is brought to the closed position.

The locking members 24, 25 are actuated with an actuating memberconnected to the locking members. In the helmet according to theinvention, the actuating member comprises a first button 32 and a secondbutton 34, spaced apart from each other. The first and second buttonsare located in corresponding first and second cavities 28, 30 located inthe front portion of the chin guard. Preferably, the first and secondbuttons are spaced apart from each other with resilient means, inparticular a spring 54, enabling to hold the locking members in thelocking position. The locking members are connected with the actuatingmember preferably using tie rods 26.

In order to raise the chin guard in the open position, the user pressesthe two buttons 32 and 34 towards each other, as indicated by the arrowsin FIG. 3. As a result, the tie rods 26 will pull the levers in thedirection as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 disengaging hook 48 from itscorresponding slot 50. The user can then easily pull the chin guard tothe open position as shown in FIG. 2. When releasing the two buttons,they will return due to the spring load to the initial position. As aresults, the levers are again brought in the locking position.

The locking mechanism is preferably mounted on a support member 56, asshown in FIG. 4. The support member is fixed to the chin guard, forexample using rivets. The rivets clamp protuberances located on the chinguard and passing through openings 58 provided in the support member. InFIG. 4, only a portion of the support member and only one of theopenings have been illustrated. Each lever 24, 25 is hingedly mounted onthe support member 56. The support member further preferably comprisessleeves 60 for guiding the tie rods 26 from the levers 24, 25 to thebuttons 32, 34. A cover (not shown) in a foam like material is furtherfixed to the support member for protecting the chin of the user from thelocking mechanism. The support member and locking mechanism can beassembled separately and then fixed to the chin guard. This facilitatesmounting of the locking mechanism on the helmet.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the hinge mechanism 22, showing partiallythe helmet shell 12, first visor assembly 36 and chin guard 14. Thehinge mechanism is not visible externally, since the chin guard isprovided with openings 84 for receiving a cover plate (not shown). Abolt (not shown) passes through the openings 62 and 64 and is fastenedto the threaded opening 66.

As already indicated, the first visor assembly 36 is hingedly connectedto the chin guard. This is achieved by a toothed rack mechanism 68 and70 comprising indentations 70 in the first visor assembly 36 mating intocorresponding indentations 68 in the chin guard 14. This mechanismallows to hold the first visor assembly in several positions withrespect to the chin guard. The user may easily open the first visorassembly simply by lifting the visor assembly at the height of at leastone of the protrusions 38, as indicated with an arrow in FIG. 3.

The chin guard 14 is hingedly connected to the helmet shell 12. This isachieved by providing a protrusion 72 on the chin guard 14 extendingthrough opening 74 and movable within slot 76 in the helmet shell. Theopening 74 is shaped in such a manner to allow a hinge movement eitherbetween the first visor assembly 36 and the chin guard 14, or betweenthe chin guard 14 and the shell 12. A prong 78 is preferably provided inslot 76, delimiting a compartment 80. Prong 78 is provided for lockingthe chin guard in the open position as illustrated in FIG. 2. Indeed,when opening the chin guard, protrusion 72 slides within slot 76 andreaches prong 78. When the user pulls the chin guard further open,protrusion 72 will pass over prong 78 and be locked in compartment 80.

Slot 82 is provided for receiving a screw (not shown) used for hingedlymounting the second visor assembly 42 to the first visor assembly 36.The second visor assembly is movable with respect to the first visorassembly by moving sliding button 44 in groove 46 provided in the firstvisor assembly.

The helmet is further provided with ventilating means 51, 52 and 53. Inthe back portion of the shell and the front portion of the chin guard,the ventilation means 51 and 52 are formed by an opening which may beclosed with a cover. In the lateral portions of the chin guard, openings53 are provided.

PARTS LIST

10 helmet

12 shell

14 chin guard

16 first lateral portion

18 second lateral portion

20 front portion

22 hinge mechanism

24 first locking member

25 second locking member

26 tie rod

28 first cavity

30 second cavity

32 first button

34 second button

36 first visor assembly

38 cavity

40 visor

42 second visor assembly

44 sliding button

46 groove

48 hook

50 slot

51, 52, 53 ventilation means

54 spring

56 support

58 opening

60 sleeve

62, 64, 66 openings

What is claimed is:
 1. A helmet comprising: a) a shell, b) a chin guardhaving a first lateral portion, a second lateral portion and a frontportion positioned between the first and second lateral portions, saidchin guard being hingedly mounted to the shell and moveable between anopen position and a closed position; c) the chin guard having a lockingmechanism for locking the chin guard to the shell in the closedposition, the locking mechanism comprising: i) a first locking memberapplied at the first lateral portion and provided for engaging the shellin a locking position; ii) a second locking member applied at the secondlateral portion and provided for engaging the shell in the lockingposition; and iii) an actuating member connected to said first andsecond locking members and provided for actuating the first and secondlocking members; wherein the front portion has a first cavity and asecond cavity faced towards each other; and the actuating membercomprises spaced apart first and second buttons located in said firstand second cavities and provided to be pressed towards each other inorder to actuate the locking members.
 2. The helmet according to claim1, further comprising resilient means between said first and secondbuttons for bringing the first and second buttons in a rest position. 3.The helmet according to claim 1, wherein the actuating member isconnected to the locking members with tie rods.
 4. The helmet accordingto claim 1, wherein the locking members are formed by levers hingedlymounted to the chin guard.
 5. The helmet according to claim 1, whereinthe locking mechanism further comprises a support member fixed to thechin guard, and wherein said locking member is hingedly fixed to thesupport member.
 6. The helmet according to claim 1, further comprisingmeans for holding the chin guard in the open position.
 7. The helmetaccording to claim 1, further comprising a first visor assembly hingedlymounted to the chin guard.
 8. The helmet according to claim 7, furthercomprising a second visor assembly hingedly mounted to the first visorassembly.
 9. The helmet according to claim 8, wherein the first visorassembly comprises a groove and the second visor assembly comprises asliding button slideably mounted in the groove.
 10. The helmet accordingto claim 1, further comprising ventilation means.
 11. The helmetaccording to claim 1, wherein the chin guard is removably mounted onsaid shell.